THE SEAT BELTS WILL NOT RETRACT, WHICH SHOWS THEY DO NOT WORK PROPERLY. CONCERNED THEY WILL FAIL IF I'M EVER IN A CRASH. :( THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME A SEAT BELT IS UNFASTENED. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A FEW YEARS. CALLED A LOCAL MECHANIC TO ASK IF THEY COULD FIX IT, BUT APPARENTLY THIS IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE, SO THE…
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THE SEAT BELTS WILL NOT RETRACT, WHICH SHOWS THEY DO NOT WORK PROPERLY. CONCERNED THEY WILL FAIL IF I'M EVER IN A CRASH. :( THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME A SEAT BELT IS UNFASTENED. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A FEW YEARS. CALLED A LOCAL MECHANIC TO ASK IF THEY COULD FIX IT, BUT APPARENTLY THIS IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE, SO THEY WON'T TOUCH IT. SMART DOESN'T ADMIT IT'S AN ISSUE EVEN THOUGH MANY OTHER SMART OWNERS HAVE COMPLAINED OF THE SAME ISSUE. PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OUR SAFETY AS FAR AS THE SEAT BELTS ARE CONCERNED.
NHTSA ODI #11072693
70,000 miles · Jun 24, 2017
Seat Belts
BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELTS DO NOT RETRACT
NHTSA ODI #11001181
20,000 miles · Aug 28, 2015
Seat Belts
SEAT BELT LIGHT STAYS ON. CAME ON FOR NO REASON.
NHTSA ODI #10760014
19,000 miles · Apr 19, 2015
Seat BeltsSteering
CAR MAKES LOUD LOUD NOISES AND THEY TELLING ME IT WAS NORMAL NOTHING WRONG I DON'T THINK THAT'S TRUE CAN SOME ONE HELP ME IT'S BEEN LIKE THIS SENSE I N OUGHT IT AT ANNAPOLIS DEALERSHIP SEAT BELT STEERING WHEEL LOUD NOISES. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10706473
13,928 miles · Aug 5, 2014
Air BagsSeat Belts
THE SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM LIGHT INDICATES A MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS FAILURE HAS HAPPEN. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPEN THE DEALER SAID IT WAS A BAD GROUND. THE SECOND TIME IT FAILED THE DEALER REPLACED THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT. MY CONCERN IS THAT THE OWNERS MANUAL STATES, "WARNING A MALFUNCTIO…
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THE SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM LIGHT INDICATES A MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS FAILURE HAS HAPPEN. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPEN THE DEALER SAID IT WAS A BAD GROUND. THE SECOND TIME IT FAILED THE DEALER REPLACED THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT. MY CONCERN IS THAT THE OWNERS MANUAL STATES, "WARNING A MALFUNCTIONING SRS SYSTEM MAY NOT DEPLOY WHEN NEEDED IN AN ACCIDENT RESULTING IN SERIOUS OR FATAL INJURY, OR IT MIGHT DEPLOY UNEXPECTEDLY AND UNNECESSARY WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT AND/OR INJURY TO YOU OR TO OTHERS." IN AN EFFORT TO FIND OUT WHY THIS HAPPENING I WENT ON-LINE AND FOUND A SMART CAR WEB SITE ,INDEPENDENT FROM THE MANUFACTURE(DAIMLER AG), THAT HAD LISTED MANY OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURE HAS A RECURRING DEFECT THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. THIS PLACES OWNERS, PASSENGERS, AND THE PUBLIC, IN AN UNSAFE CONDITION. PLEASE ADDRESS THIS SAFETY HAZARD. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10619122
51,699 miles · Jul 15, 2014
Air BagsSeat BeltsSeats
THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON. HAD THE DEALER DIAGNOSE TO FIND IT IS AN INTERMITTENT CONNECTION TO MULTIPLE CONNECTORS. SERVICE TECH ADVISED BY SOFTWARE ANALYSIS TO USE CONTACT ENHANCEMENT FLUID OR SPRAY. CODE WAS CLEARED. THE SRS LIGHT WAS OUT AND STAYED OFF FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS. CONCLUSION IS THE SRS SYSTEM IN THESE CARS ARE UNRE…
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THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON. HAD THE DEALER DIAGNOSE TO FIND IT IS AN INTERMITTENT CONNECTION TO MULTIPLE CONNECTORS. SERVICE TECH ADVISED BY SOFTWARE ANALYSIS TO USE CONTACT ENHANCEMENT FLUID OR SPRAY. CODE WAS CLEARED. THE SRS LIGHT WAS OUT AND STAYED OFF FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS. CONCLUSION IS THE SRS SYSTEM IN THESE CARS ARE UNRELIABLE AND SAFETY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED. CHEAP CONNECTORS CAUSING ISSUE. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THESE CARS. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10610575
17,000 miles · Dec 13, 2012
Seat Belts
SEATBELT LATCH MECHANISM BROKE. THIS, IN COMBINATION WITH THE FACT THAT THE SEATBELT MECHANISM ITSELF FREQUENTLY FAILS TO RETRACT, SUGGESTS THAT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS FAULTY. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10488696
Mileage unknown · Dec 4, 2012
Seat Belts
BOTH SEAT BELTS, BUT ESPECIALLY THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT, LOSE TENSION AND ARE RENDERED INEFFECTIVE. THEY CAN STILL BE FASTENED, BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRAINT. I REQUESTED A REPAIR OF AT LEAST THE PASSENGER-SIDE SEAT BELT DURING A 11/19/12 CAR REPAIR AND THE DEALER'S REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THAT MANY SMART FORTWO VEHICLES H…
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BOTH SEAT BELTS, BUT ESPECIALLY THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT, LOSE TENSION AND ARE RENDERED INEFFECTIVE. THEY CAN STILL BE FASTENED, BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRAINT. I REQUESTED A REPAIR OF AT LEAST THE PASSENGER-SIDE SEAT BELT DURING A 11/19/12 CAR REPAIR AND THE DEALER'S REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THAT MANY SMART FORTWO VEHICLES HAVE PROBLEMS WITH SEAT BELTS. HE WAS RELUCTANT TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM AND DID NOT. FROM READING THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT SEATBELTS OF SMART VEHICLES, THIS LAST OF PROPER RESTRAINT SEEMS TO BE AN ON-GOING PROBLEM. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10487367
51,424 miles · Nov 29, 2012
Latches/locks/linkagesSeat Belts
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SMART FORTWO. THE CONTACT STATED THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT DOES NOT LATCH. THE FRONT HOOD LATCH CAME APART CAUSING THE HOOD TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH. NO ONE WAS INJURED AND A CRASH DID NOT OCCUR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THERE WAS NO RECALL AND THE CONTACT WOU…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SMART FORTWO. THE CONTACT STATED THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT DOES NOT LATCH. THE FRONT HOOD LATCH CAME APART CAUSING THE HOOD TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH. NO ONE WAS INJURED AND A CRASH DID NOT OCCUR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THERE WAS NO RECALL AND THE CONTACT WOULD HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR COST AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 51,424. UPDATED 12/11/12*LJ THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE AND HOOD LATCH WERE REPLACED. UPDATED 12/12/12
NHTSA ODI #10486440
Mileage unknown · Dec 9, 2011
Seat Belts
THE SEAT BELT WILL NO LONGER LATCH ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. AFTER REVIEWING THE FOLLOWING FORUM I REALIZED THIS IS EFFECTING SEVERAL OTHERS: HTTP://WWW.SMARTCAROFAMERICA.COM/FORUMS/F25/SEAT-BELT-BUCKLE-JAMMED-32961/INDEX2.HTML THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INTO AN ACCIDENT WITH A MALFUNCTIONING SEAT BELT. *TR
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2008-2009 smart fortwo cabrio and fortwo coupe vehicles. The rear insulation mat in the engine compartment may deform, deteriorate, and loosen over time, allowing the mat to contact hot exhaust system components.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the mat contacts hot exhaust system components, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear insulation mat with an improved one, free of charge. The recall began in July 2018. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2018060010.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2008-2009 smart fortwo cabrio and fortwo coupe vehicles. The rear insulation mat in the engine compartment may deform, deteriorate, and loosen over time, allowing the mat to contact hot exhaust system components.
Consequence: If the mat contacts hot exhaust system components, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear insulation mat with an improved one, free of charge. The recall began in July 2018. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2018060010.
Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain 2008-2009 smart fortwo cabrio and fortwo coupe vehicles. The rear insulation mat in the engine compartment may deform, deteriorate, and loosen over time, allowing the mat to contact hot exhaust system components.
Consequence: If the mat contacts hot exhaust system components, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear insulation mat with an improved one, free of charge. The recall began in July 2018. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-800-367-6372. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2018060010.
SMART USA IS RECALLING 43 MY 2008 FORTWO 451 VEHICLES. A SINGLE BATCH OF PAINT SENT TO THE COMPANY DID NOT MEET SPECIFICATIONS. A RE-WORK WAS DONE IN THE PLANT USING DIFFERENT FORMULATIONS OF PAINTING MATERIALS. AFTER THE RE-WORK WAS COMPLETED, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE COMBINATION OF MATERIALS USED TO REPAINT THE FRAME AND CHASSIS COULD LEAD TO DE LAMINATION OF THE PAINT MATERIALS FROM THE BODY AND FRAME STRUCTURES.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: SUCH DE LAMINATING CAN TAKE PLACE IN THE AREA OF THE BODY WHERE THE WINDSHIELD AND ROOF HAVE BEEN AFFIXED WITH ADHESIVE, WHICH COULD AFFECT THE ADHESION OF THOSE COMPONENTS TO THE VEHICLE BODY, INCREASING THE RISK OF SEPARATION. THIS COULD CAUSE A CRASH IF THE ROOF OR WINDSHIELD SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE IN MOTION.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPAINT THE AFFECTED AREAS TO MEET SPECIFICATIONS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SMART USA AT 1-248-648-2451.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2
EA17003 · Engine Compartment Fire
Opened Sep 1, 2017 · Closed Aug 21, 2018
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine
On April 30, 2018, Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, (Mercedes-Benz) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a defect that could result in a vehicle fire starting from the engine compartment in 42,781 model year (MY) 2008 and 2009 Smart Fortwo cabrio and coupe vehicles (451 platform).According to Mercedes-Benz?s DIR, ?the rear insulation mat within the engine compartment might deform, deteriorate, loosen and over time, subsequently be able to contact hot components of the exhaust system.This could lead to an ignition of the insulation mat and possible fire in the engine compartment.?The US-specification exhaust system has an external catalytic converter packaged close to the insulation mat, where temperatures in the vicinity of the insulation mat reach high values.Over time, these temperatures can lead to a change in the insulation mat's material characteristics and ultimately allow the material to deform. Depending on the magnitude and the specific location of the deformation, the insulation mat could contact hot components of the exhaust system and ignite.Mercedes-Benz will replace the rear insulation mat on the affected vehicles with the improved mat first implemented in the United States in MY 2010 vehicles.ODI?s analysis of fire incident field data reported to NHTSA and Mercedes-Benz show an increasing trend of non-crash fires in the subject vehicles that begins after 4 years of service and accelerates after 7 years of service.The analysis shows that this trend is driven by fires occurring in the engine compartment.Forensic investigations of fires occurring in the past year identified the insulation mat as a likely or possible cause of most of the fires originating in the engine compartment.This investigation is closed based on Mercedes-Benz insulation mat recall.For more information about field data trends and fire investigations, see the closing resume in the document file for this investigation.
PE16016 · Engine Compartment Fire
Opened Dec 16, 2016 · Closed Nov 20, 2017
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine
On December 16, 2016, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE16-016 to investigate eight complaints alleging incidents of engine compartment fire while driving or shortly after engine shutdown in model year (MY) 2008 through 2009 Smart Fortwo vehicles.The complaints appeared to indicate an increasing trend, with all eight fires occurring since January 2015.As part of PE16-016, ODI analyzed information related to incidents reported to the Office by consumers, analyzed field data and technical information submitted by Mercedes-Benz USA (Mercedes) in response to the PE16-016 information request letter, and analyzed non-crash vehicle fire claim data provided by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).To date, ODI's analysis of incidents reported by consumers and provided by Mercedes has identified 27 incidents of open flame fires originating in the engine compartments of the subject vehicles, 14 of which were reported to ODI by Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and 18 involving complaints or field reports to Mercedes (5 of the incidents were reported to both ODI and Mercedes).One incident reported to Mercedes includes an allegation of an injury from smoke inhalation.Nineteen (19) of the incidents occurred since January 2015.Mercedes has only investigated 2 of the 27 fire incidents, and the company was unable to identify a vehicle-based cause for either incident.To further assess incident rates and trends, ODI requested fire claim data for the subject vehicles and eight peer vehicles from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).HLDI collects insurance claim data from companies representing over 80 percent of the market for private passenger vehicle insurance in the United States.ODI?s analysis of the HLDI data, which covered the period from 2010 through late-2016, found that the MY 2008 Fortwo vehicles had a significantly higher claim frequency than its peers and, similar to ODI?s complaint trend, experienced a sharp increase in claims in 2015.This investigation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA17-003) to continue to investigate the high frequency and increasing trend of non-crash engine compartment fire incidents in the subject vehicles.The VOQs associated with the opening of this investigation were:10676359, 10780222, 10790017, 10820891, 10872656, 10944676, 10916505, 10924311, 10924637, 10939504, 10945296, 10993895, 11011100, 11011565.
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